Carnivore's Guide: Beef

We’ve embraced pork, lamb—even goat—but beef is our first true love. It’s what we crave the most. We wanted to find locally raised beef that we could feel good about eating, and, boy, did we ever.

Try it out: Our favorite restaurant beef dishes

Beef tartare: Generous quenelles of lush, freshly hand-chopped Oregon sirloin, mixed with a touch of mustard and herbs, arrive with the famously addictive fries at Café Presse. Delicious simplicity, and for $16, a true bargain.

Steak frites (above right): The grill guys at Betty know how to get a good, deep char on a piece of meat. That’s why we can’t wait to go back for another Cedar River rib-eye from California ($24), served with a mountain of crisp, thin fries just out of the fryer.